Inquest into death of Surrey cyclist finds drain grate fitted wrong way

Ralph Brazier died after hitting a pothole surrounding a drain cover fitted the wrong way, an inquest into his death hears

The inquest into the death of a cyclist in Surrey has heard that the pothole he struck included a drain cover fitted the wrong way around, with the openings parallel with his path of travel.

Surrey County Council had inspected the road defect on February 25, just days before Brazer’s incident on March 1. The 52-year-old Twickenham and Dittons Velo cycling clubs member was out cycling in the evening on Weybridge Road, Weybridge, when he hit the pothole, falling off his bike and sustaining fatal injuries.

Get Surrey reports that Martin Porter, representing Brazier’s family, said that the pothole posed a ‘serious risk of death’ for cyclists.

Porter said that such a road hazard that poses a risk to road users should have been cordoned off, and has called for an review of the council’s policy.

SCC’s representative Julian Waters disagreed, saying that the evidence did not suggest there was an immediate danger posed by the pothole.

However, Waters did confirm that there was an issue with the grate cover, saying: “We know there was a permanent repair into fitting a grate at the wrong angle and that one side of the flange was not attached.

“It’s clearly not policy to put grates in the wrong way round, I readily accept that this is something that has to be considered.”

Connect with us

Please keep me up to date with special offers and news from Cycling Weekly and other brands operated by TI Media Limited via email. You can unsubscribe at any time.

We'd also like to send you special offers and news just by email from other carefully selected companies we think you might like. Your personal details will not be shared with those companies - we send the emails and you can unsubscribe at any time. Please tick here if you are happy to receive these messages.